Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Drug Testing....Unconstitutional? Yeah, well......

I apologize to all for this being a day late - I was traveling. No excuse, I know, however it did give me a chance to read other articles and blogs about this very topic. What I have found is that there are people crying "Foul," over this new law in Florida. Again, because I have your attention and you found your way here, I'm weighing in. One person (that I would seriously love to debate), made the comment that he saw this on Facebook and wanted to delete anyone that is "stupid, selfish, and short-sighted enough to think that this is a good idea." My response? Hey, you never had me as a friend - have at it! The ridiculous remarks this person made were laughable, in my opinion. I could not tell if this was a man or woman, but the first reason they gave for being against this so-called travesty of a law is that the main people applying for welfare are single mothers who are required to name the father and attempt to get child support before applying for welfare benefits. Fair enough, right? Hey, I pay my child support and, quite frankly, have no respect for a parent that doesn't pay. Here's the line that really caught my eye, though - For a woman whomay not know or wish to disclose the identity of the father, this is a doubly-humiliating experience being drug-tested trying to feed their children." Let's let that sink in for a second before we dissect that little doozy of a comment. Uh-huh. Ready? This is exactly WHY the law is put into place. For them to be so irresponsible so as to NOT KNOW who the father is, well...they belong on Maury. If you're that irresponsible with your own body, how do I even imagine you're going to be responsible with the cash I worked so hard to give you? You can color this any way you like - I have lived in the inner city. I have spoken to women who would tell you, point blank, they had another child (after having three already) because the government will pay more money if you have four children. They didn't CARE who the father was - they simply wanted more money from the public till. I think we can all agree that logic is horribly flawed...not to mention insulting to those of us that go to work everyday and pay our taxes so these recipients can receive the welfare. As for "doubly-humiliating," I can only say that, faced with the prospect of being down on my luck and facing hard times, I would have no problem providing a urine sample if it meant my kids would have food.

Let's not try to pretend there aren't people taking advantage of the system. We can argue for days that there are people that are very deserving of the welfare checks, however when the logic of having another child for money is put into play I take serious issue with it. The writer also says there are disablist undertones to this story. Reading further, I found that the argument here is that many disabled people are forced to self-medicate and receive prescription medications "outside the system" - a practice many would disagree with. You think? Why, yes, we do disagree. As a matter of fact, they now have a law to protect against you getting tax dollars for doing just that!

I am astounded that there are representatives in office that want to call this unconstitutional. Let me help you, Congressman - these are tax dollars that we worked very hard for. We, as fellow Americans, want to help and do our part to make sure our neighbors in need are taken care of. As with any good program, though, it's being abused in many cases. All Gov. Scott did was try to minimize that abuse. This is hardly unconsitutional, HOWEVER......I think I can help with a solution! Here it is - if this law bothers you, you are offended, or think your Constitutional rights are being trampled, please let me be the first to point out that you don't have to apply. Simple solution - get a job. I know, the economy sucks. Jobs are hard to find. Sadly, they won't make the same money at, say, McDonald's as they will from Uncle Sam. You do not have to take a drug test. You do not have to receive benefits. Now, just one question left - do you really want them or don't you?

Please, for the love of God, can we STOP having stupid conversations and work on real issues? The law took care of a serious issue, now I say it's time to move on to the next...right after the other 49 states jump on this. Folks, we're doing the right thing by helping others.....but we're also doing the right thing by saying "Enough," to those that want to abuse our good nature.